The Islamic financial sector plays a role in demonstrating the power of Islamic finance in addressing issues faced by society today.
MIFC Leadership Council (MLC) chairman Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar said the society was living in a time where the frequency and amplitude of financial crises have been on the rise over the last 25-30 years.
This suggested that the global financial architecture is broken or “fractured”, said Azman, who is Khazanah Nasional Bhd, former managing director.
“Finance has to serve the real economy, which in turn, must serve a progressive and just society most of all, and in it, is our role and moral duty to demonstrate the power of Islamic finance in addressing the biggest challenges facing society today,” he said during a special session on the future of Islamic finance at the Global Islamic Finance Forum 2022.
Among other symptoms, Azman highlighted are rising inequality, climate crisis and runaway inflation.
In this context, he said Islamic finance, underpinned by its Shariah principles such as the prevention of harm, circulation of wealth, needed to accelerate the process of moving from being merely halal to a higher standard and impact of being toyyib (virtuous).
“Islamic finance must move to the next phase, answering what the people out there want – the needs of society.
“This was one of the actions quoted alongside another two suppositions that ‘Malaysia Boleh!’ as we have done in coming together in our history as an independent nation with positive financial innovation and solutions including the formation of Tabung Haji (1963), the comprehensive Asian Financial Crisis recovery measures in the 1998-2000 period, the development of Islamic finance including the establishment of Bank Islam (1983) and advancing the Islamic Sukuk market to fund massive infrastructure development from the 1990s onwards,” he said.
According to Azman, Malaysia can make a big difference as a beacon to the Ummah and the world through Islamic finance. “The best way to transform Islamic finance and demonstrate transformations from halal to toyyib, is by working together.”
